Month: April 2024

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Entertainment Daypop

‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sentenced to 18 months for fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins

Santa Fe^ New Mexico^ USA at New Mexico State Capitol.

“Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in a Santa Fe, New Mexico, court on Monday in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot when actor Alec Baldwin was handling a gun during the film’s production in 2021. Prosecutors sought the maximum penalty of 18  months in state prison.

Gutierrez-Reed, the chief weapons handler for the Western movie, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month after mistakenly loading a live round into the revolver Baldwin was using on the movie set. Following Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction, the judge ordered her to be held in police custody pending her sentencing. Per Reuters, the shooting is believed to be the first time in modern times that a member of a film crew or cast was killed by a live round accidentally loaded into a gun.

Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for the firearms on the New Mexico set of Rust. In October 2021, a gun held by Alec Baldwin was discharged during a rehearsal for the Western film. Although the weapon was not supposed to be loaded with live ammunition, a bullet was fired, killing 42-year-old Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Gutierrez-Reed was charged in January 2023 with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence for allegedly handing off a bag of cocaine following her police interview after the shooting. She pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Gutierrez-Reed, who was dressed in a khaki prison uniform, wiped away tears as she was sentenced by New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. She cried as she addressed the court asking for probation, saying (per US Weekly): “My heart aches for the Hutchins family and friends. … Helena has been and always will be an inspiration to me. I understand she was taken too soon and I pray that you all find peace. My heart goes out to the film industry for the devastating pain that this tragedy caused. …When I took on Rust, I was young and I was naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to do. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing, when things got tough, I just did my best to handle it.”

Baldwin’s trial is set for July 10 after a grand jury indicted him on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in January.

Editorial credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

‘Rust’ armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed sentenced to 18 months for fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins

Santa Fe^ New Mexico^ USA at New Mexico State Capitol.

“Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, 27, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in a Santa Fe, New Mexico, court on Monday in the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was shot when actor Alec Baldwin was handling a gun during the film’s production in 2021. Prosecutors sought the maximum penalty of 18  months in state prison.

Gutierrez-Reed, the chief weapons handler for the Western movie, was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last month after mistakenly loading a live round into the revolver Baldwin was using on the movie set. Following Gutierrez-Reed’s conviction, the judge ordered her to be held in police custody pending her sentencing. Per Reuters, the shooting is believed to be the first time in modern times that a member of a film crew or cast was killed by a live round accidentally loaded into a gun.

Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for the firearms on the New Mexico set of Rust. In October 2021, a gun held by Alec Baldwin was discharged during a rehearsal for the Western film. Although the weapon was not supposed to be loaded with live ammunition, a bullet was fired, killing 42-year-old Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Gutierrez-Reed was charged in January 2023 with one count of involuntary manslaughter and one count of tampering with evidence for allegedly handing off a bag of cocaine following her police interview after the shooting. She pleaded not guilty to both charges.

Gutierrez-Reed, who was dressed in a khaki prison uniform, wiped away tears as she was sentenced by New Mexico District Court Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. She cried as she addressed the court asking for probation, saying (per US Weekly): “My heart aches for the Hutchins family and friends. … Helena has been and always will be an inspiration to me. I understand she was taken too soon and I pray that you all find peace. My heart goes out to the film industry for the devastating pain that this tragedy caused. …When I took on Rust, I was young and I was naive, but I took my job as seriously as I knew how to do. Despite not having proper time, resources and staffing, when things got tough, I just did my best to handle it.”

Baldwin’s trial is set for July 10 after a grand jury indicted him on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in January.

Editorial credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com

Categories
News Daypop

2 officers and suspect killed in shootout in Syracuse, NY suburb

Liverpool. New York (State). USA. Depicted on U.S Map

Authorities confirmed on Monday that a sheriff’s deputy and a police officer were killed after a shootout Sunday night in Liverpool, N.Y., a suburb of Syracuse. The person authorities consider the prime suspect in the case was also killed, police confirmed.

The shooting occurred as police investigated a stolen vehicle in Salina, New York (Liverpool is one of five small suburban communities in the town of Salina, according to Salina’s website.) Syracuse Police Chief Joseph Cecile told a news conference that at about 7 p.m., two Syracuse officers “initiated a traffic stop on a suspicious vehicle” that took off; the officers initially lost sight of the vehicle, but were able to track it to an address in Liverpool via its license plate.  At a little after 8 p.m., Syracuse officers and deputies from the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office got to the address and were inspecting the suspicious vehicle when they saw what they thought were firearms inside. Then, shots suddenly rang out and there was “an exchange of gunfire.”

Per CBS News, the Syracuse police officer and Onondaga County sheriff’s deputy were initially taken to a local hospital in critical condition following the shooting; after which, both were pronounced dead at University Hospital. Police Chief Cecile said “we lost two heroes tonight,” adding that the officer who was killed had about three years on the job; while Onondaga County Sheriff Toby Shelley told reporters the slain deputy was “seasoned” and “very well-liked in his community. … (He was) just a great guy.”

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh said at a press conference: “This is a dark day for Syracuse. This is our worst nightmare come true. “Our thoughts right now are with the families of those two officers, two heroes, and if anyone knows the family member of a police officer, give them a hug. This is their worst nightmare and we just need to be there for everyone in the law enforcement community today.”

Editorial credit: SevenMaps / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

Wide receiver DeVonta Smith agrees to $75M contract extension with the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles /The Birds professional American football logo

The Philadelphia Eagles announced Monday that they’ve exercised the fifth-year option on wide receiver DeVonta Smith’s rookie contract, who agreed to a three-year contract extension. The Eagles posted on its social media pages: “Happy Monday Eagles fans ‼ We’ve exercised the fifth-year option on WR @DeVontaSmith_6 and have agreed to terms on a 3-year contract extension through 2028. @Toyota | #FlyEaglesFly”

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the extension is worth $75 million with $51 million guaranteed. Smith’s deal with the Eagles works out to a four-year, $90.5 million agreement, including the fifth-year option  Smith’s agent, Kelton Crenshaw, confirmed the news of the deal as well.

Smith, 25, came off a Heisman Trophy-winning season and two national championships at Alabama to be drafted 10th overall by the Eagles in 2021.  Smith logged 81 catches for 1,066 yards and seven touchdowns over 16 starts last season, and set a team record as a rookie with 916 receiving yards. Additionally, his 95 receptions for 1,196 yards and seven scores in 17 starts in 2022-23 were also the most by a wide receiver in franchise history (until A.J. Brown surpassed him the following season with 106). Throughout his career, Smith has 240 catches for 3,178 yards and 19 touchdowns in three seasons.

Smith is to make $15.5 million in 2025 under the terms of his rookie option. He will then be paid an average of $25 million per season from 2026 through 2028.

Editorial credit: DanGui / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Sports Daypop

2024 Boston Marathon: Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma wins first title, Hellen Obiri repeats as women’s champion

Runners in the Boston Marathon pass the 1 kilometer to go line on their way to the finish line

Ethiopia’s Sisay Lemma won his first Boston Marathon title on Monday, finishing with a time of 2:06:17 in the men’s race (the 10th fastest in Boston Marathon history) and denying Evans Chebet of a men’s three-peat. The 33-year-old Lemma — the fourth-fastest man in history after his 2:01:48 finish in the Valencia Marathon last month (per CNN) — secured his second major marathon victory after winning the 2021 London Marathon. Fellow Ethiopian Mohamed Esa (2:06:58) came in second, while Chebet finished third with a time of 2:07:22.

Lemma said after the race: “Until halfway through I was running very hard and very good. But after that it was getting harder and harder. Several times I’ve dropped out of the race before. But today I won, so I’ve redeemed myself.”

For the women, Hellen Obiri of Kenya retained her 2023 title, and became the first woman to repeat as champion at the Boston Marathon in nearly two decades. Obiri’s time of 2:22:37 was about a minute slower than her 2:21:38 from last year, but enough to edge fellow Kenyans Sharon Lokedi (2:22:45) and Edna Kiplagat (2:23:21), who placed second and third, respectively. The two-time Olympic silver medalist held a per-mile pace of 5:26 over the 26.2-mile course. Obiri, 34, previously won the 2023 New York City Marathon with a time of 2:27:23,

Obiri told ESPN: “Defending the title was not easy. Since Boston started, it’s only six women. So I said, ‘Can I be one of them? If you want to be one of them, you have to work extra hard,’ and I’m so happy because I’m now one of them. I’m now in the history books in Boston.” Obiri added of her fellow-Kenyan, second place winner Sharon Lokedi: “Sharon is a strong lady, so I tried to push. I tried my best. … I think Sharon gave me a tough competition.”

Editorial credit: Jaminnbenji / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Hardy’s ‘HIXTAPE VOL. 3: DIFFTAPE’ ft. Toby Keith, Lainey Wilson, and more

Hardy attends the 2019 CMT Music Awards at the Bridgestone Arena on June 5^ 2019 in Nashville^ Tennessee.

HARDY’s third installment of his Hixtape series, HIXTAPE VOL. 2: DIFFTAPE, pays homage to the late great Joe Diffie, and the project’s tracklist includes some of Diffie’s best-loved songs, featuring original vocals from the late singer alongside some of the biggest country artists. Diffie died in 2020 due to complications of COVID; he is survived by his wife, Tara, and five children.

HARDY released HIXTAPE Vol 1 in 2019, and Vol. 2 in 2021; he shares of the latest edition: “I’m super excited about DIFFTAPE. I think it’s a one-of-a-kind project and we’re the first people to do something like this. Especially having the original recordings and the fact that we have his family’s blessing to do it, it’s all really special.”

HIXTAPE VOL. 2: DIFFTAPE features Joe Diffie alongside Clint Black, Larry Fleet, Randy Houser, Luke Bryan, Old Dominion, Jon Pardi, Lainey Wilson, Tracy Lawrence, Chris Young, Nate Smith, Mark Wills, ERNEST, Aaron Tippin, Randall King, Sammy Kershaw, Parker Diffie (Joe Diffie’s son), Hailey Whitters, Darius Rucker, Brooks & Dunn, Blake Shelton, Jake Worthington, Reba McEntire, Jack Ingram, Koe Wetzel, Luke Combs, Toby Keith, Kameron Marlowe, Lauren Watkins, and previously announced artists HARDY, Morgan Wallen, and Post Malone.

An article on Whiskey Riff quotes Hardy as saying that ‘Difftape’ is meant to be “a huge nod” to one of his musical heroes, and that fans won’t “believe the people that are on this”: “‘Difftape’ is all Joe Diffie songs and it’s just a huge nod, tip of the hat, if you will, to the icon that is Joe Diffie. Rest in peace, we all love you, we all miss you and we just wanted to do something special and different and cool. So this is the biggest ‘Hixtape’ ever, 30 of our best country friends and singers. You’re not gonna believe all the people that are on this… I’m so proud of all the people that said yes to this.”

To stream HIXTAPE: Vol. 3: DIFFTAPE, head here.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Country Daypop

Zac Brown Band kicks-off the summer with ‘Tie Up’

Zac Brown of Zac Brown Band performs at the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival.Las Vegas^ NV^ USA - September 21^ 2019

Zac Brown Band are kicking-off the summer with the new single ‘Tie Up,’ posting on their social media: “Our new single “Tie Up” is available everywhere now. Turn it up and let us know what you think! Link in bio ⚓”

Per a press release, “Tie Up” draws inspiration from frontman Zac Brown’s favorite spot to tie up on Lake Lanier in North Georgia. Brown, who co-wrote the song with Jonathan Singleton and Ben Simonetti, explained that “growing up fishing and being on that lake was a big part of my childhood. We wanted to give our fans the ultimate summer jam and are looking forward to playing it on the road.”

Brown said when he heard the start to the song that Singleton and Simonetti had, he thought, “That’s a smash. We got to write that one. We got to get it done.” He said it took about three hours to get part of it done, but “the bridge wasn’t happening. It took about three more months to finally sit down, (and) I was writing with another guy and played him the song and he had an idea… So it took probably, you know, three and a half, four months to get it finished . You know, finding great people to write with is a big part of the process,” he said. “And when you find good chemistry with people and you sit down and you’re productive things pop out and tie up was one of those things. Super happy to get it out there into the world. …I sat down with some buddies trying to figure out what a summer song would be. What’s classic ‘being out on the water?’ What are people going to want to jam to in summertime? And that’s how ‘Tie Up’ was chosen.”

Zac Brown Band will hit the road with Kenny Chesney on his headlining “Sun Goes Down Tour” this summer, also featuring Megan Moroney and Uncle Kracker.

Take a listen to ‘Tie Up’ – here.

Editorial credit: Brian Friedman / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Pop Daypop

CBS apologizes, will re-air Billy Joel special after cutting short his ‘Piano Man’ performance

Singer Billy Joel performs in concert at Madison Square Garden on November 21^ 2016 in New York City.

CBS released a statement on Monday, April 15 to apologize after the Billy Joel’s concert special, The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time was cut off during the end of Joel’s iconic song, “Piano Man.” The network aired the two-hour special (taped in March) in honor of Joel’s record-setting run at Madison Square Garden, which he began in January 2014 and will conclude on July 25. The special also marked the musician’s first-ever broadcast concert special.

Per Billboard, the network’s apology statement read: “A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. We apologize to Mr. Joel, his fans, our affiliated stations, and our audience whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song. Due to the overwhelming demand from his legion of fans, BILLY JOEL: THE 100TH – LIVE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9:00PM ET/PT.”

Fans who tuned in were upset after the broadcast was delayed by 30 minutes due to the 2024 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. As a result, the network cut the end of Joel’s performance of ‘Piano Man’ to switch back to local news coverage at 11PM. Setlist.fm also notes that Joel played an additional five songs afterward as part of his encore, so viewers also missed out on performances of:  “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “Uptown Girl,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “Big Shot” and “You May Be Right.”

Joel’s next performance at MSG is set for Friday, April 26, and is currently sold out. Joel’s full performance on the “Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden” special is also available to stream on Paramount+

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Rock Daypop

CBS apologizes, will re-air Billy Joel special after cutting short his ‘Piano Man’ performance

Singer Billy Joel performs in concert at Madison Square Garden on November 21^ 2016 in New York City.

CBS released a statement on Monday, April 15 to apologize after the Billy Joel’s concert special, The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time was cut off during the end of Joel’s iconic song, “Piano Man.” The network aired the two-hour special (taped in March) in honor of Joel’s record-setting run at Madison Square Garden, which he began in January 2014 and will conclude on July 25. The special also marked the musician’s first-ever broadcast concert special.

Per Billboard, the network’s apology statement read: “A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. We apologize to Mr. Joel, his fans, our affiliated stations, and our audience whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song. Due to the overwhelming demand from his legion of fans, BILLY JOEL: THE 100TH – LIVE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9:00PM ET/PT.”

Fans who tuned in were upset after the broadcast was delayed by 30 minutes due to the 2024 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. As a result, the network cut the end of Joel’s performance of ‘Piano Man’ to switch back to local news coverage at 11PM. Setlist.fm also notes that Joel played an additional five songs afterward as part of his encore, so viewers also missed out on performances of:  “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “Uptown Girl,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “Big Shot” and “You May Be Right.”

Joel’s next performance at MSG is set for Friday, April 26, and is currently sold out. Joel’s full performance on the “Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden” special is also available to stream on Paramount+

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com

Categories
Entertainment Daypop

CBS apologizes, will re-air Billy Joel special after cutting short his ‘Piano Man’ performance

Singer Billy Joel performs in concert at Madison Square Garden on November 21^ 2016 in New York City.

CBS released a statement on Monday, April 15 to apologize after the Billy Joel’s concert special, The 100th: Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden – The Greatest Arena Run of All Time was cut off during the end of Joel’s iconic song, “Piano Man.” The network aired the two-hour special (taped in March) in honor of Joel’s record-setting run at Madison Square Garden, which he began in January 2014 and will conclude on July 25. The special also marked the musician’s first-ever broadcast concert special.

Per Billboard, the network’s apology statement read: “A network programming timing error ended last night’s Billy Joel special approximately two minutes early in the Eastern and Central Time Zones. We apologize to Mr. Joel, his fans, our affiliated stations, and our audience whose viewing experience was interrupted during the last song. Due to the overwhelming demand from his legion of fans, BILLY JOEL: THE 100TH – LIVE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN will be rebroadcast in its entirety on CBS on April 19th at 9:00PM ET/PT.”

Fans who tuned in were upset after the broadcast was delayed by 30 minutes due to the 2024 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. As a result, the network cut the end of Joel’s performance of ‘Piano Man’ to switch back to local news coverage at 11PM. Setlist.fm also notes that Joel played an additional five songs afterward as part of his encore, so viewers also missed out on performances of:  “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” “Uptown Girl,” “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me,” “Big Shot” and “You May Be Right.”

Joel’s next performance at MSG is set for Friday, April 26, and is currently sold out. Joel’s full performance on the “Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden” special is also available to stream on Paramount+

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com